Safety device for clotheslines



, Dec. 7, 1943. R. K. BROWN 2,336,220

SAFETY DEVICE FOR CLOTHESLINES Filed March 10, 1943 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Dec. 7, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,336,220 SAFETYDEVICE FOR- CLOTHESLINES Rudolph K. Brown, Jersey City, N. J.Application March 10, 1943, Serial No. 478,614 1 Claim. (Cl.211.11,9.07:)

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inclothes-lines and it relates more particularly to a safety device for apulley-type clothes-line.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensiveand dependable safety device adapted for use on pulley-type clothesthelabor and strain ordinarily present in hanging clothes. Another objectof the present invention is to provide a safety device for a pulley-typeclothes-line which is adapted for connection to a window frame or thelike and which can be adjusted to bring one end of the clothes-line intothe room during hanging or removing of clothes and which can be lockedoutside the window at other times.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention are present in thefollowing detailed description, appended claim and accompanying drawing.

For purposes of illustration there is described hereinbelow one form ofthe present invention which has been found pract se to give satisfactoryresults. However, it is to be understood that the present invention isnot limited to the instrumentalities and arrangements herein shown anddescribed.

Referring to the accompanying drawing in which like reference charactersindicate like parts throughout Figure 1 represents a perspective view ofone embodiment of the present invention as it appears while clothes arebeing hung or removed.

Figure 2 represents a plan view and partial section of the embodiment ofFigure 1; the position of the several parts after the device has beenswung out but not yet locked being shown in dotted lines.

Figure 3 represents a view partly in elevation and partly in verticalcross-section of the embodiment of Figure 1 as it appears after it hasbeen locked in its outside position.

Figure 4 represents a, perspective view of the parts of the hingeassembly in dis-assembled position.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 4 of the drawing, one leaf ll!of a hinge It is more or less permanently and immovably attached to theouter face of a window frame l2 by the screws I3 at a point slightlybelow the center of the window. The other leaf M of said hinge II isaflixed, by means of the screws I5, to the larger 55 end of a taperedarm I6 which is preferably of wood or other inexpensive and easilyformed material; the leaf l4 and its associated arm |5 being free toswing around the hinge-pin l! which will be described in detailhereinbelow.

The smaller end of the arm It carries a hook l8 disposed generally onone side thereof. One pulley I9 of a clothes-line 26 is adaptedremovably to be mounted upon the hook l8; the other pulley 2| of saidline 20 being mounted upon a pole 22 or the like in conventional manner.

The hinge-pin I! has a hook-like portion 23 formed at one end thereof;the straight portion 24 of said hinge-pin |1 being sufiiciently long toextend somewhat above the upper edge of the leaves It and I4 wheninserted through the apertured meshing tongues thereof. A smallsheavewheel 25 is rotatably mounted upon the upper protruding portion ofsaid hinge-pin |'i. A curved guard 26 is mounted at one end upon theleaf H! in any conventional manner, as for example, by being passedthrough a small hole 21 formed in said leaf and being thereafter peenedagainst the leaf to lock it in place. A loop 28 is formed at the otherend of said guard 25. The loop 28 is in line with the hinge-pin I! sothat the upper end of said hinge-pin, after passing through saidsheave-wheel, passes through said loop. A transversely extending hole 29is formed at the uppermost end of said hinge-pin I1 above said loop 28and is adapted to receive a cotterpin 30 which locks the hinge-pinassembly in place.

A hook 3| is swivelably mounted on the arm l6 upon the side opposite thehook H3. The hook 3| is adapted to co-act with an eye 32 mounted on theinner face of the window frame I2 to lock the arm IS in its inwardlyextending position.

The upper run of the clothes-line 2!! runs from the outside pulley 2|inside the guard 26 and over the sheave-Wheel 25 and from there to thepulley l9. The lower run of the clothes-line 2!] either extends directlyfrom the pulley l9 to the pulley 2| as shown in Fig. 1 or can bepositioned behind the hook-like portion 23 of the hinge-pin I! as shownin Fig. 3.

When it is desired to hang clothes, the lower window is raised, the armI5 is swung inside the room, the hook 3| is connected to the eye 32 tolock the arm in its inwardly extending position and the lower run of theclothes-line 2|] is disconnected from the hook-lik portion 23. As can beseen from Fig. 1, it is then possible thereof especially when to hang(or to remove) clothes on the line without having to lean out of thewindow as is necessary with conventional clothes-lines. In this way, notonly is the danger of falling out of the window virtually eliminated,but also the time and effort involved in hanging (or removing) clothesis greatly reduced since it is no longer necessary to bend over and tohold the clothes in an awkward extended position during the operation.

After the hanging operation has been completed and the clothes run outon the line to dry, the lower run of the line 20 is again placed behindthe hook-like portion 23, and the arm l6 unhooked and swung outward tothe position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2; the clothes-line 20 beingmaintained taut during the swinging op eration by the sheave-wheel 25and the hook-like portion 23. Since the arm I6 has a tendency to swingin a wind, I prefer to lock tion shown in Fig. 3, by inserting thepulley 19 (which has a diameter somewhat greater than the distancebetween the hook-like portion 23 and the sheave-wheel 25) between theupper and lower runs of the line 20 and also by hooking the hook 3|behind the upper run of the line.

The window can then be closed and the clothes allowed to dry whereuponthe window is opened, the arm i6 is disconnected and swung in and lockedto the eye 32, the line 20 is unhooked from the portion 23 and theclothes pulled in and removed from the line without danger and with aminimum of time and efiort.

The sheave-wheel 25 permits the line to run freely and easily andprevents fraying and wear the pole 22 is not directly inline with thewindow so that the clothesline 2t makes a relatively sharp angle inpassing over the sheave. The construction of my device also permitsquick and easy dis-assembly thereof so that it is possible to replaceparts readily and inexpensively.

The safety device of my present invention can be constructed at a lowcost with a minimum of specia or difficult to make parts. Thus thehinge-leaves it and hi may be the leaves of an ordinary conventionaldoor-hinge. The hingepin may be readily formed from an ordinary metalrod by bending up one end and drilling or otherwise forming a holetherethrough at the other end. The hooks I8 and 3|, the eye 32 and thesheaveheel 25 are all standard parts which are readily and inexpensivelyobtainable it in the posisaid hinge-pin passing on the market. The armHi can be formed and assembled with a minimum of time and expense.

The present invention may be embodied in forms other than that shown anddescribed herein and it is therefore to be understood that theembodiment shown and described herein is by way of illustration and notrestriction, reference being made to the appended claim rather than theforegoing description to indicate the scope of the present invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

A safety-device, adapted to support one end of a clothes-line or thelike and to be swung into position inside a room for hanging andremoving clothes and adapted also to be reversely swung into positionoutside the room without slackening the clothes-line, comprising ahinge-leaf adapted to be immovably afiixed to a window frame or thelike, a second hinge-leaf swingably attached to the fixed leaf by ahinge-pin having a bent hook-like portion formed at its lower end, thelower run of the clothes-line being adapted to be hooked over saidhook-like portion when the device is to be swung outwardly and beingadapted to be unhooked from said hook-like portion when the device is tobe swung inwardly, through and extending upwardly beyond meshingapertured tongues on said leaves, a sheave rotatably mounted on the uwardly extending portion of said hinge-pin and over which the upper runof said clothesline is adapted to pass, a guard fitting over saidhinge-pin above said sheave, a retaining pin extending through atransverse opening formed in the uppermost end of said hinge-pin abovesaid guard, a relatively thin elongated rigid arm attached at one end tosaid movable hinge-leaf and adapted to swing therewith about saidhinge-pin, a hook connected to the free end of said arm adjacent oneside thereof and adapted detachably to receive a pulley carrying saidclothes-line, and an elongated hook swivelably attached to the otherside of said arm intermediate the ends thereof, said elongated hookbeing adapted to engage with an eye mounted on the inside of the windowto lock said arm in its inwardly extending position and also beingadapted to engage with the clothes-line to lock said arm in itsoutwardly extending position.

"RUDOLPH K. BROWN.

